'In a split second,' Westford officer pulled man from truck's path

WESTFORD -- Sgt. Marc Proia said when he first arrived on the scene for a report of a recycling truck hitting a pole, he had no idea what he was walking into.

The drama unfolded in less than 30 seconds, he said.

The driver of the recycling truck, which had just crashed into a pole near 15 Robinson Road around 9 a.m. Tuesday, was laying in the road in front of his vehicle.

As Proia went over to ask the man groaning on the ground if he was all right, a neighbor started screaming, "The truck is rolling! The truck is rolling!"

Proia said he looked down and saw the large truck was only a few feet away from the driver.

Police Sgt. Marc Proia outside the Westford Police Department Tuesday, hours after he rescued the driver of a recycling truck that was rolling toward the man on Robinson Road. See a video at lowellsun.com.
SUN / SAMANTHA ALLEN

Without thinking about it, he grabbed the injured man by the arm and pulled him out of the way, with just a second or two to spare.

"If it had been a second later, it would have been too late," Proia said. "That tire was awfully close."

As the two men moved to the side of the truck, Proia said the nearby resident then started screaming to him that the truck was now rolling down the steep hill, headed straight for his police cruiser parked about 40 feet away. Proia said he ran down the hill and hopped in his car to pull the cruiser to the side, but it was too late. The truck crashed into the vehicle at about 10 mph. The cruiser sustained minor damage to its front. Proia said he was not injured.

"I just did what I had to do," he said.

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"It happened in a split second, instantaneously."

Only a few hours later, Proia, 43, said his adrenaline rush had dialed down and right before writing up his report at the station, he had some time to reflect on what happened. Standing in front of his cruiser, with a cracked front bumper, Proia said the driver, a 48-year-old man, helped pull himself out of the way, too, by kicking his feet. Proia said he didn't believe the two would have made it out safely without the driver's help.

A crew uses a hole digger as they prepare to replace a leaning utility pole, at left, which snapped when it was struck by a recycling truck near 15 Robinson Road in Westford on Tuesday. Police Sgt. Marc Proia rescued the injured driver who was laying in the road as his truck began to roll forward. See a video at lowellsun.com.
SUN / SAMANTHA ALLEN

"He realized what was about to happen," Proia said. "He must have heard (the neighbor) and he was assisting me assisting him."

Proia was hailed by the Westford Police Department for his good service Tuesday morning. He's been with the department for nearly 18 years and is a native of Billerica. He graduated in 1989 from Lowell Catholic High School, which was known then as Keith Catholic.

Proia added that in his 18 years in Westford, he can't remember any incident quite like Tuesday's.

"I know I've never done that before," he said.

The driver of the recycling truck, who has not been identified by police, was transported by MedFlight helicopter to Boston Medical Center for urgent care. The severity of his injuries are unknown at this time, according to Westford Police Capt. Victor Neal. Neal said police continue to investigate what caused the driver to crash into the pole.

A portion of Robinson Road near the Crisafulli and Col. John Robinson Elementary schools was closed for several hours into Tuesday afternoon as crews worked to fix the snapped pole, which cracked at its base and was leaning over the roadway. Detail police officers on the scene said they had concerns for the pole toppling and wires going down, but National Grid and Verizon worked to rectify the situation safely. There was no power outage reported in the area from the incident, according to Neal.

Proia said Tuesday was his last shift for the week due to his rotating schedule, so he was looking forward to a weekend off. He noted everyone at the station was supportive of him and his efforts.

"Everyone's been great. The chief has been great. They've been asking me if I need anything," he said. "(At the scene), I was told to put on my jacket because I was shaking. I didn't even realize."

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